HOW TO SPEND A MORNING IN BUNGENDORE

Sponsored by the Bungendore businesses featured in this story.

From speciality gift shops and cafes, to wine tasting and exquisite woodwork, the historic village of Bungendore located in the the Southern Tablelands near Lake George is a charming, and very picturesque town.

It has become a popular place to visit for Canberran’s both as a stopover point on the way to the coast, and as a day trip destination. Bungendore offers visitors a unique village experience.

With plenty of cafes and restaurants to fulfil the most refined palates, there are also gift shops, boutiques and galleries to wander through, making it the perfect day trip destination.

I’ve been a massive fan and lover of Bungendore ever since we started visiting there on the way down to the coast.

Now, it has really become it’s own destination, with so many shops, cafes and other things on offer.

Getting to Bungendore is easy, with it being a 35 minute drive from Canberra, and 3 hour drive from Sydney.

With so many delightful things to see, do and explore, I thought it would be a great idea to showcase to you some of the local businesses that you may or may not have ventured into during your trips to this beautiful town.

Before doing anything else in Bungendore, bring along your pooch and drop them off at Bliss Fur Dogs while you spend the morning exploring.

Bliss Fur Dogs is a full service dog grooming salon offering a fantastic range of services for your puppy or dog.

They are a company that has been trading in Bungendore for 4 years now and are absolutely driven by passion and love for what they do! They truly believe that your dog is as important as you and deserves the ultimate grooming experience.

Their extensive range of services on offer means your dog will be pampered using only products that are natural, paraben and sulphate free. They will also enjoy the gentle grooming techniques, turning what can sometimes be a stressful situation, into a stress-free, relaxing experience.

When entering this super cute grooming salon, we were greeted not only by a gorgeous in-house dog (see cute pics below!), but also by Petria, the super passionate owner of the business. I could instantly tell just how passionate and fulfilled Petria is by owning this business and service the community of Bungendore.

Take a look at the Bliss Fur Dogs full range of services via their website.

The Big Green Cup Cafe is an award winning, social enterprise cafe, that aims to enhance the lives of people with a disability by providing them with meaningful employment.

The Big Green Cup Cafe provides work experience and training in all aspects of café work with the intention of giving them the necessary skills to find permanent work in the industry with the help of Lasting Solutions Co. Open 7 days a week, The Big Green Cup Café offers breakfast and lunch, as well as various events that help them give back to the community.

Opening in February this year, The Big Green Cup Cafe is driven by the passion from owner Sarah, who mortgaged everything to take on this project to make a difference.

Through this business, Sarah wanted to not only highlight the local produce available but also bring in the latest offerings from around Australia to the local community. She stocks Butterbings from Melbourne (a delicious brownie sandwiched together with flavoured buttercream), organic tea including iced teas and chai, turmeric and Turkish delight latte teas from Rabbit Hole in Sydney, as well as the famous Morks Hot Chocolate from Melbourne.

They also stock a variety of art works, crafts and provedore supplies from local artists and makers for the ACT and surrounding region.

This is a business that is driven by love and passion, and that is evident as soon as you step foot in the door.

The Big Green Cup cafe have also recently won the 2018 QPRC Business Awards for Inclusion, and have been nominated for the Women Making Change award at the NSW & ACT Regional Achievement and Community Awards that will be announced later this month.

Great food, amazing tea and coffee, as well as supporting people with a disability – this is the perfect mix in my eyes!

After you’ve had a delicious breakfast, venture down the pathway to Jemayca Red.

This is a store that has a unique range of women’s fashion and accessory items.

Owner Jenny, has had the store for 2.5 years, a regularly travels up to Sydney to purchase stock, as well as source particular sizes for her clients.

Jenny has a strong passion for providing customers with an incredible shopping experience, and pays close attention to clients needs.

When speaking more with Jenny, she outlines just how much she loves having her store in Bungendore because the locals are so friendly and appreciate the unique and personalised service that is provided to them.

I personally had my eye on a few pairs of earrings…so may be heading back to purchase those!

On the hunt for some pre loved retro and collectable items? Well this is the place for you!

Retro and Record Emporium is filled with an incredible and unique range of items including rare records, unique and collectable books, as well as other collectable retro, vintage and antique items.

Trading in Bungendore since May 2015, Retro and Record Emporium has an eclectic range of items for sale, and I guarantee that people will be surprised to find something that they either want or are looking to collect themselves!

Owner of Retro and Record Emporium, Tom enjoy’s running his business and seeing the gratified looks on satisfied customers faces when they find that special thing, and he gets incredible satisfaction seeing nice things go to nice people!

Take a look at Retro and Record Emporium’s extensive catalogue via their website.

Bungendore Wood Works Gallery specialises in exhibiting and promoting Australian made wood art, sculpture, craft and contemporary furniture of a very high standard from the country’s foremost designer/makers in wood.

They take pride in showcasing the skill and art of Australia’s wood workers and the varied richness and beauty of native timbers.

They also exhibit fine arts from learning artists from every state and territory that range from Blake and Wynne prize-winning artists to ACT, Canberra and Bungendore regional artists.

I actually remember visiting this Gallery when I was in high school as part of my woodworks class, and remember being blown away by the skill and incredible works that are on offer.

The Gallery is a multi-tourism award winning attraction, and has created an authentic tourism experience, attracting 120,000 visitors a year.

David Mac Laren is the Artistic Director and founder of the Bungendore Wood Works Gallery, and sees craft as a way of life that compliments the tourist ethos.

His nationally and internationally renowned award winning Gallery offers visitors a genuine Australian arts and craft experience that aspires to be the de facto national collection of wood craft.

Read more about the incredible work of Bungendore Wood Works Gallery via their website.

After spending the morning with these passionate and driven business owners, I got a strong feeling that Bungendore has an incredible community spirit!

Spend the morning or even the entire day exploring this historic town.

Enjoy the beautiful food at the many cafes and restaurants, or just stroll around the centre to find many places of interest including galleries and speciality stores.

This post was developed in collaboration with the Bungendore businesses featured in this story.